This story appears in the Ebola feature series. View the full series.

by Joshua J. McElwee

News Editor

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jmcelwee@ncronline.org

Twelve weeks ago, Catholic deacon and doctor Timothy Flanigan left Rhode Island carrying 10 hockey bags full of medical supplies. His destination? The West African country of Liberia, one of several countries struggling to halt and recover from the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the region.

Maryknoll Sr. Madeline Dorsey had been ministering to the poor in El Salvador for five years when Ursuline Sr. Dorothy Kazel, lay missioner Jean Donovan, and Maryknoll Srs. Maura Clarke and Ita Ford were kidnapped, raped and murdered there on Dec. 2, 1980. GSR talked to her about those times, her service to people in need –  and courage.

GSR Today - Boston Cardinal Seán O'Malley called the Vatican investigation of American women religious “a disaster.” Speaking to CBS 60 Minutes interviewer Norah O'Donnell for Sunday night’s episode, O’Donnell said the investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “looked like a crackdown from men at the Vatican,” and O’Malley responded, “A disaster.”

by Joachim Pham

Correspondent

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A commune in Vietnam's Central Highlands is home to about 4,000 people of three ethnic minorities. Amid poverty and poor nutrition or opportunities, Servants of the Holy Spirit help provide as many as they can with the basics of life. They serve as health care and education providers, as well as a safety net for early childhood care. And they do it out of love.